stellabear Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Hi all! My daughter, husband and I were on Caswell Beach, Oak Island in NC. We were searching for shark teeth when we found this molar that I marked as A. It appears to be a mammal molar in a partial jaw bone...we were super excited especially as we have never found anything like this before. The next day we drove to Southport. A small town on the Cape Fear river only a couple of miles away. We were super surprised and excited to find the molar that I marked as B. There is a small local museum (they are extremely nice and I highly recommend visiting it if you are ever in the area...it is even free!) we took molar B there and they told us that they were not sure what kind of animal it came from but have occasionally seen other mammal molars come out of the Cape Fear. If you have any idea I would love to hear it. I can take more pictures if needed. Thank you so very much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellabear Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thank you! This is very interesting to me...Just so I can understand B seems to be a fossil of an extinct piccary and A is from a more recent domestic pig...maybe a bar-be-que on the beach? Is there any way to guess the age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Item "B" is a domestic pig upper molar. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Molar similar to example B previously identified on The Fossil Forum as "peccary". LINK: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/32391-is-this-a-tapir-molar/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Example "B" and the "previously-identified" tooth don't appear similar to me. If they were similar teeth, I would have previously identified the other tooth as domestic pig. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I would have been inclined to agree with the identification of example B as pig except the patina is much too dark to be of historic origin. I have collected many samples of historic bones recovered from streams and have so far not seen a bone of historic origin with a patina that dark and shiny, particularly teeth with a very hard surface more resistant to mineral contamination. Having been collected along a river the tooth would have been subject to sand abrasion removing superficial mineral coating which could accumulate over a few hundred years. I think it's difficult to dismiss the tooth as of historic origin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Let's get closer, shall we? It is unfortunately out of focus, but this lightened image might help: "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Well, thanks, Auspex. As I maintained, the tooth is a domestic pig upper molar. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calhounensis Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 (edited) Dark patina, unfortunately, means nothing. Edited July 18, 2015 by calhounensis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I used to think that patina took a long time too....Until I found a solid black pork chop bone obviously cut by a saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I consider the overall context in which a fossil is found which produces characteristics like preservation, wear and patina. Usually fossils are consistent within a particular site. These two examples, though found in the same general vicinity, are dramatically different in appearance. Depending on context patina can certainly matter. The attached example was posted to the Fossil Forum as peccary recoverd from the early Miocene Kirkwood Formation in New Jersey. No so different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 To combine a fun trip for your daughter and get another "in hand" assessment, consider taking them to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences or the South Carolina State Museum. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I consider the overall context in which a fossil is found which produces characteristics like preservation, wear and patina. Usually fossils are consistent within a particular site. These two examples, though found in the same general vicinity, are dramatically different in appearance. Depending on context patina can certainly matter. The attached example was posted to the Fossil Forum as peccary recoverd from the early Miocene Kirkwood Formation in New Jersey. No so different. You are right . . . This tooth is not so different because it, too, is a domestic pig upper molar. It is not a Miocene peccary tooth from the Kirkwood Formation. Another dark-stained pig tooth. Here is a better image of the tooth from the 2013 thread, along with an image of domestic pig uppers. See if you can make a match. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I have several domestic pig teeth that I have found in several areas of eastern NC. They could be a few hundred years old, or from last weeks pig pickin. If you are from NC as stated, you should know whole hogs are cooked all the time, often times with he head intact. Also early settlers of our region kept hogs for food, so just like people finding domestic cattle teeth often in the west, we find hog teeth. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 And to add, Harry is blunt and to the point. But much more often than not, correct oh his ID's. 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellabear Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Thank you to all! To be honest we are happy with our finds even if it is domestic pig. The excitement and happy look on her face when we found them will keep her looking for years to come. I have learned that it was common practice to dispose of farm animals into the cape fear as it was easier and kept the bugs away. I want to take my daughter to the museum this summer so I will carry the tooth with me. Thank you for the idea! We enjoy finding anything unusual and I really appreciate all the input...hopefully next time our unusual prize will also be interesting to others sorry the picture was blurry...if anyone wants me to try again I will, otherwise we will happily file the teeth under pig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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